Pennsylvania State University

If you want the "college experience" of football and parties, then this place is for you. If you are looking for more intellectually stimulating people then go somewhere else. I'm transferring because I'm no longer into football and partying. Penn state pride is terrifying btw.

1st Year Male -- Class 2019

Campus Aesthetics: A, Individual Value: D

The Good: High quality professors and students within the Smeal College of businessThe Bad: The high percentage of professors who fail to grasp the english language and the amount of professors who are at the university strictly for research and have absolutely no business teaching.

3rd Year Male -- Class 2012

Faculty Accessibility: A+, Individual Value: F

I am still a first year student, so my opinions may change by the time I graduate...
Penn State is definately a great value for any In-State student, given the great reputation that it has around the country, its alumni network, quality of education, and tuition (although it is the highest in state tuition of any state school). As an out of state student, the tuition is a bit high, although for a school ranked in the 50s by most rankings, it is worth it.

Pros that I have found: in general, people know PSU and are impressed based on what they know about the school, which doesn't hurt when job hunting in the future. There are a lot of majors to choose from, and many of them are known to be quite good, such as engineering and meteorology. Admissions is actually not too competitive ( I got in with an unweighted 3.17 gpa, 1980 SATs, 31 ACTS, not too many APs or extracurriculars. They say that for out of state, GPA is 2/3 of the decision...) Social life wise, if you are into huge parties with lots of alcohol, State is the place for you. If you tend to like smaller groups of people, or do not like to drink, you might find the herds of drunken kids that infest the streets of campus and town thursday through saturday annoyying.

If you are looking for a big school, PSU is definately one of the larger ones, which can be good or bad.

Cons: Very few people get scholarships, at least from what I know. I haven't really met anyone from the many people I've talked to who have gotten any aid from the school directly.

Being at a school with over 40,000 other undergrads is definately intimidating, as you can walk around for hours and not see anyone you know. However, if you are friendly and sociable of course you will make friends and it will seem like a smaller place after the first few weeks.

Diversity wise, Penn State is terrible. I am Asian, so I do notice the way different ethnic groups interract with each other, and I was disappointed to find out that white kids tend to hang out with whites, blacks with blacks, asians with asians, and so on. Of course, there are exceptions.

1st Year Female -- Class 2010

Campus Aesthetics: A, Collaboration/Competitive: C